Special thanks to Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum (ua-cam.com/users/AirZoo), retired SR-71 Pilots Jerry Glasser and Buz Carpenter, and Arnie Gunderson (retired Pratt & Whitney J58 PM). It's an absolute honor to work with folks as legendary as the subjects I cover!
Hey Jake, can you do a front loader next? I always wondered how that big hinged steering system worked (ig. if it was hydro-mechanical or purely hydraulic). As well as how they are powered; Are they diesel mechanical or diesel electric? Do they use a spiral transmission like a snowblower or a traditional geared transmission? Are they AWD, 4WD, or RWD? I’d love to see all the systems up close. Great work again! Keep it up
Dear Animagraff, the work that u put in is mind boggling, with each video I am amazed by the amount of details and technical understanding. And explain it to the public with easy to follow animations. I love each one of your videos, myself I am an aircraft maintenance technician and I admire this video. Keep up the good work.
I've been a pilot for 30 years, I have never once been able to explain the SR 71 with such clarity. I've never heard anybody explain it well. This is one of the most complex airplanes to understand. And you made it so simple a child can understand it. Very skillfully done my friend.
Interesting to note the pilot's take on this Vid. I agree is excellent. More, the best such I reckon I've ever seen. Being an amateur, it means not much I guess - me noting, as far as I can see, complete lack of mistakes. The thing is, some vids out there, make basic enough errors, even a know little like me, can spot 'em ;)
@@hotstepper887 I read your posts, but they are long and after awhile it’s difficult to absorb it all. I agree that Russian military equipment is more advanced than the West portrays it to be as a whole, but not just the US portrays. That’s how it should be - Called propaganda. Everyone does it, including Russia. Russians are very experienced with military equipment, not newcomers to the playing field. I will say that few of us actually have all of the specs on any recent military creations. That’s why it’s hard to do a 1 for 1 comparison. Look at how long it took for us to get more info on the SR-71. I wouldn’t be so confident about what anyone knows about the F22. Just like you may not know all the specs for Russia equipment. It took a long time for the B2 to be revealed. There’s a lot we don’t know. Back to the subject, this wonderful video is about the SR-71, not anything else. Let us enjoy the blackbird in all of its glory!
20min in , and I realized why I’m still watching, you talk slow, and have pauses in between sentences, it lets me to think and comprehend what I’ve just heard, thank so much for that, just that is gold, finally a narrator that gets it!!!!
funny you mention that. i cant watch videos anymore where the creator removes every little pause in their speaking, so it sounds like a 10 minute long sentence. I just can't do it. I find myself holding my breath while they talk because it seems like they aren't breathing.
In thay case you'd be sure to know that it's running gine in active duty still as she's just made the atlantic crossing and is set to make the return over the Chinese plateau in about 15 mins from now21.58pm Bst Sat 3rd Aug ..I got visual and foto 🫡 🖖 🫡
They are the reason you have area 51 and they have lost a couple of them in crash's and they have another one that's slightly different called something else side by side they pretty much identical can't remember it name
@@regandunn4850 I'm not sure which aircraft you were referring to, but there is the TR-1 in the U-2 family and in the SR family, started with A-12, YF-12, M/D-21, SR-71 A and B
As a mechanical engineer, I can't begin to express how much value your videos bring to young minds. With the internet filled with misinformative AI generated videos, your videos give me hope in the future of tomorow. On behalf of all of us.. thank you Jake and please never stop what you are doing. They will use your videos for hundreds of years to teach the future generations, well done my friend!
The engineers who built this plane in the 1950s did it using slide rules. The computers then were about as advanced as scientific calculators today. Incredible.
@@simbatortie9684 Well, they may have actually been able to get the needed titanium directly from the Soviet Union instead of having to acquire it through multiple shell companies as the CIA so cleverly did. However, I don't think they would have been able to afford it lol. I think that would have likely been their first hurdle. The second, even _if_ they had access to the complete blueprint, they wouldn't have had the engineering know-how at the time to pull it off, as you said. Kelly Johnson, and the Skunk Works guys were (and still are) on another level. Also, it definitely helped to have the full power of the CIA at their disposal for the budget, and the completely legitimate sourcing of titanium from our enemy that definitely wasn't being used against them by engineering & building most advanced reconnaissance plane ever to spy on them with. 😏🤣
Dear Animagraffs, you're right, there can never be "too much material online" when it comes to the subject of the SR-71 Blackbird. And even if this field of study was indeed saturated, there would still be room for your beautiful illustrations and clear concise explanations because there is no channel - on the whole of the internet - that can deliver what you bring to the table. The professional teaching material (created with profits in mind) wouldnt have a chance of delivering the clarity that you do. Bravo, again, on such beautiful work that it feels like a crime to watch it for free. Im not in a position to pay for what its worth, so please consider this small token to be just a thought gesture of my appreciation.
@@michaelc3977would it be possible to use a double hull. Inner aluminum hull at 30 °C so that passengers don’t sweat too much and an outer hull made of titanium. The tail is cold and made of aluminum. The titanium hull is attached there. Behind the nose a ceramic ball bearing and a watt linkage align the hulls similar to a suspension in a car. Dampers and springs in included. Rudder, and ailerons can also be made of aluminum
I was a FTD instructor for the SR-71 while I was in the US Air Force. I wish I had that video as a training aid. We had great training aid that showed the different systems worked along with lighted boards I will that video is OUTSTANDING.
As much of a treat as it is...ultimately the SR-71 NEEDS an hour long video just to thoroughly explain all of the highly technical nuances of all its subsystems. Truly a remarkable achievement for mankind.
Bro how the hell did you even begin to put this together. My dad and Uncle worked on these many decades ago and love to tell me stories about it. Now I get to show them how it actually all worked through your video. Thank you. What a gift.
@@oberonpanopticon What we have now is presidents allowing foreign countries to slow fly data gathering ballons over entire countries, thereby negating the need for developing such machinery...at least one president anyhow.
Dude, the 9th SRW (strategic reconnaissance wing) was equipped with reconnaissance aircraft including the SR-71. As a man who knows his stuff from servicing this type of craft, he's commending the creator of the video for his excellent presentation. Put two and two together.
In the mid 80’s, I was at Avial in Burbank, California to witness a test of a freshly rebuilt Allison 501 engine. Sitting to one side on a stand was a strange looking engine. When I asked, they told me it was an engine from an SR-71, and was one of two they were rebuilding. They weren’t allowed to let me see the one in the shop, but they were happy to give me a close up look at the one on the test stand. They even let me watch as they ran it in the test cell. It was one of the best workdays I ever had. Very, very cool.
Former Boeing engineer here, from the days of hand drawn Mylar drawings the 1980’s. This video is an incredible creation and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. It reminds me of when coworkers would suddenly disappear from their usual work station with no notice. One day they were there working, the next day they were gone - with no ‘goodbye’ or explanation. They had been sucked into ‘black’ projects like the SR 71, where secrecy was absolutely paramount. Some people had such high security clearances and specialized skills that they could never transfer out to another department. They had to literally quit the company instead. Want to travel out of town to visit family etc? Gotta file a request first, have it approved, then file a report afterwards about who you met and where you went. Secrecy was (and still is) serious business. Truly sensitive national security information is withheld from people who are not vetted and 100% trusted, even presidents.
I'm an SR-71 nerd and for the longest time I couldn't help but watch anything Blackbird related. After a while, I hit my point of satiation. I've watched dozens of documentaries about this plane. I got it. So i stopped watching as much stuff about this plane, ignored this video in my feed a few times. But finally my inner nerd won and I'm 8 minutes in. I gotta say, holy crap dude, this is incredible. How everything is named, highlighted and shown in detail... Just incredible. It makes so much sense. It also demonstrates how dang smart the engineers were.
I'm absolutely blown away. This is by far the most complete and engaging collection of information about the SR-71 I've seen on the web. Another amazing piece of work, Jake! Definitely one for the history books.
That just goes to show that... When a particular type of people are pushed to the limit (protect an ideology) they will do what would otherwise have been impossible...this is in the context of this amazing reconnaissance vehicle during the cold war
Couldn't agree more... This video is explained perfectly yet still extremely challenging to understand without several passes. That also excludes the fact that this video is an explanation of a system that was already designed, not one being designed for the first time To think that engineers innovated so many different areas of this system in the 60s is incredible... While the jet was a military weapon and not a civilian one, it's technological marvels like this that inspire generations to come. It's just sad that the cold war was the excuse for massive RnD investments to create these. I think at heart the engineers don't care about the wartime use, but want to make the most innovative and perfect systems possible. It's simply that the threat of the cold war gave near unlimited budgets to military RnD allowing creations like this. The space race was presented to the public as a purely humanitarian effort to explore space but in reality was funded for the ability to launch nuclear ICBMs. The XB-70 Valkyrie (supersonic strategic nuclear bomber, similar in goals to the SR71 Blackbird) was canned because of the innovations of ICBMs, meaning the project funding got scaled back significantly. Even the origins of the Internet come from ARPANET, which was part of the Department of Defences Advanced Research Projects Agency... GPS, Nuclear power generation... I could go on... The point is that many of the most groundbreaking technological innovations seem to originate from Cold War military RnD, even if the military application wasn't immediately obvious. We shouldn't need war as an excuse to invest into RnD, and we shouldn't rely on the private sector to innovate these solutions. Do you think SpaceX and Blue Origin would exist if not for the already achieved innovation and inspiration done by NASA in the 50s and 60s? The fact It took another 60 years for a private company to put a car in orbit should be a good indicator 😄
@@ex59neo53 it wasn't almost perfect it was perfect and they went on to say that no improvement could be made Computers make things faster for skilled people and possible for unskilled people but they don't change the outcome otherwise at least not until AI starts designing things
Bruh, the engineers and technicians had to basically live in a wind tunnel for a few years. No other way to be so precise on the hull design without seeing the air movement in real time.
What fascinates me the most about the Blackbird is that they managed to create it mostly with hand-drawings/sketches/blueprints without a CAD software, cfd simulation software etc
@@lanbldr Hall Hibbard, Johnson's Lockheed boss, referring to Johnson's Swedish ancestry, once remarked to Ben Rich: "That damned Swede can actually see air." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Johnson_(engineer)
Right? Long productive days at rows of drafting tables. A lot of cigarettes, a lot of coffee, with team lead Kelly Johnson, Lockheed Skunk Works, under CIA direction ... What a team. The greatest generation, USA's finest hour.
it was how EVERYTHING was done for hundreds of years if not thousands regarding every leading tech of any era...it is sad to hear someone say that considering software has only really been around proper for 40 odd years. Most everything in the world was put there pre computers, they are the future world and not the one you live in for at least still 75% of engineering that is greater than 40 years old.
@@Cloudminster No other piece of tech compares, designing something to cruise as the border of known physical limits at the edge of space is insane to do just offhand
That mixer alone is a marvel of analog computing, I can't imagine the amount of calculations that went into that. The fact that the aircraft was designed likely without CAD software is another statement to the incredible intellect behind the Blackbird project.
@@KingRed36 that was the triumph of the Skunk works, the right environment for good ideas to flourish. My father was briefly an engineering lecturer. His boss said that if you want to train good engineers, surround them with good engineering.
As an Aeromodeler over 40 years this mechnical mixer is lot more complex that those employed on models! What amazes me more is the NUMBER of linkages (bellcranks etc) requiring high tolerances to avoid 'slop' (dead stick) between pilot and tip elevons ... over long distances .... along and across an airframe that changes length significantly with temperature changes. A whole video could discuss how such problems are overcome. I have made simple (simple is better KISS) mechanical mixers for V tails, and and an analogue mixer with LM324 op amps (in the transmitter). Now of course modern radio control has all that built in digitally. Another interesting aspect is that (military grade) servos were not employed instead of all those linkages AND hydaulics. This could be for many reasons; MTBF in hostile environments, pilot preference, fire risk from electrio mechanical devices and power sources near fuel, long wire runs vulnerable to electrical counter measures or just plain resistance, to name but a few.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a remarkable aircraft that represents the pinnacle of aerospace engineering. Its combination of speed, altitude, and reconnaissance capabilities make it one of the most iconic and legendary aircraft ever built.
Man, the way you add and take away parts when talking about a specific thing is amazing. Takes me back to my childhood looking at those old "Cutaways" books or whatever they were called.
I had Stephen Biesty's incredible "Man of War" book. I spent hours with it, over years of time. I was always asking to break apart old appliances, radios, tvs, etc because I just HAD to know what's inside. How all that magic was being made
@@animagraffs We are the same when it comes to wanting to know what was inside of things and how they worked! Unfortunately for me I wasn't also blessed with the ability (or patience) to create these wonderfully animated 3D videos as well like you have been 🤣Seriously GREAT job on all of the videos you've done and I can't wait to see what you do next. The steam train video so far is my absolute favorite.
EDIT: I'm stupid. The software used is literally in the video description box. IGNORE BELOW How are these types of graphical models/renders made? (Like in this video) I can never find any information about what software was used :(
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! This showed up in my recommended yesterday, and I thought «no way I'm watching an hour-long vid about this», yet I sat through it all and was begging for more. My dad, who was an aviation enthusiast, died at 49 y.o. in 94 (I was 18) and when I was a kid, I bought a model kit of that plane for him, and it sat proudly on his dresser until he passed. I've always found that aircraft fascinating and so did he. When the internet came along, I found out it was even MORE impressive than I ever thought. To build this with the limited means available back in the day was nothing short of a miracle.
Thank you for a VERY Excellent presentation! I have learned more about the SR-71 than ever before. The graphics are excellent. The narration is well-paced and in a pleasant voice. I have known about the aircraft in general terms, of course, for a very long time. I have been around and interested in aerospace systems almost all my life. My grandfather served in the British RAF from 1917 to 1947. My father served two years in the RAF, then worked for many years as an aeronautical engineer. When I was in the US Marine Corps, for a while I was stationed on Okinawa, and often saw the SR-71 E😮aircraft arriving or departing. But at that time we were not allowed to talk about them. The flying squadron was nicknamed "Habu" (a local deadly viper) and the aircraft had an image of the Habu snake on the tails.
Incredible breakdown man! I used to work on old Sikorsky H-3 helicopters and make parts for them. What the engineers designed mechanically and hydraulically in the 50's was pure genius to me. And they didnt have CAD! Things like the mixer for the flight controls on the SR-71. How brilliant. Entirely mechanical. No stupid computers.
There is a SR71 at the Air museum here in McMinnville Oregon. A docent told us about when a former Soviet fighter pilot visited the museum. He walked up to the Blackbird, grabbed the wing and said "Caught you at last".
@grahamrankin4725 There is a SR-71 trainer at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan as well. There is also a Start Cart to go with it. It's an astounding plane to simply walk around.
Over 6 decades old and it looks as futuristic as ever. My grandfather worked for Lockheed Skunk Works at Area 51 back in the 60s and helped build the engines that power it. Considering it was designed in the 50s and flew in the 60s it's absolutely inconceivable how the engineers at Lockheed designed this masterpiece of aerodynamics using slide rules and drafting paper. I'm sad I never got to talk to him about it, but it still remains one of my all time favorite aircraft. Seeing just how beautifully complex things like the engines or control mixer are and how gracefully they operate is a true testament to the brilliant minds and cutting edge mechanical engineering of the Blackbird. It's very difficult to deny that the SR-71 is one of the greatest aircraft of all time.
Excellent detail and explanation of this incredible plane. My favorite aircraft since i was a kid, I’m 58 now😮. I have models and posters of it everywhere. I’ve watched a lot of documentaries on this but you have taken it to a new level, thank you for all the time and effort.
Even as a 90/2000's kid, the Blackbird still has the look of sleek science fiction, and a legendary reputation that I can't help but respect, that machine is a monument to exceptional Aerospace design and ingenuity. That and I can't help but laugh knowing that the Titianum used to build the plane was (sneakily) bought from Russia, then used to make an aircraft they could never touch, Pilots watching missiles fail to catch them and fall behind in the wake of this plane as it screamed past at speeds most aircraft designers can only dream of achieving these days
i always wondered if they can make something that goes as fast as a missile, like a missile, why can't they build a plane or jet that travels just as fast.
My father was a USAF air traffic controller during the Vietnam War. His stories of the SR-71 Blackbird captivated my imagination like little else as a young boy. Thank you for bringing this engineering marvel to the public in such astounding clarity and detail.
This aircraft is even more impressive considering it first flew in 1966. It was a step of almost alien technology. But the quality of this video is also unbelievable. I've been an airline pilot since 1989, and this was, without a doubt, the most detailed video, among those not exclusively for pilot training, that I've ever watched. It's way above the level of a documentary. My sincerest congratulations to you for the unbelievable work done
Actually it is even more impressive as the first flight of any Blackbird (an A12) was in April of 1962!! August of 1963 saw the YF12A interceptor version have its first flight. And was December of 1964 that the SR71 and the M21 had their first flights.
I served in the US Air Force for 21 years on active duty and my first duty station was Okinawa, Japan, in 1989, and the SR-71 Habu was there and it was amazing watching it fly. The SR-71 Blackbird is my all time favorite plane and I learned a few things I did not know before from watching your video. Very informative. Keep it up!
I had just joined the Air Force in Dec of 1983. After training and weld training at Chanute in IL. My first assignment was Kadena AB in Okinawa, Japan. I was assigned to the 376FMS (Field Maintenence Squadron) where I weld repaired KC135 & RC135 aircraft and support equipment. Lucky for me the welder for the 9th SRW took a month off before I was even certified as an aircraft welder. Despite that, I got to go the the Blackbird hangers and be their welder for a month. Then I got to fill in when he rotated back Stateside. So the last half of 1985. Needless to say I felt so honored to be one of rhe few to get to weld this back together after the punishment it took flying in thin air at mach3+. The most delicate and precise welding I have ever done in my life. I also fell in Love with the Okinawan people and the Island. Great memories!!! (I had a year long vocational training as a welder before joining the Air Force)
@@gregfrance1894 thats insane. Welding this kind of sensitive material knowing the pressures it had to take. I assume there was no room for welding accidents. "Let me grind it off right quick" type thing 😁🫣
An absolute masterpiece of engineering and my favorite aircraft ever. Kelly Johnson, the leader of the Lockheed Martin "Skunkworks" was a genius. I met an SR-71 Blackbird pilot at a flight-school presentation once, and he had some very cool stories to tell about the airplane. This video was amazing and showed me a number of things I had never even heard of on the SR-71. Remember, this airplane was made in the 1960s, so imagine what kind of amazing thing they have now!
Most of the cool stuff is just growing old and falling apart as more and more people become incompetent and just plain stupid each year. The geniuses that made the blackbird are becoming more rare by the day and the growing Idiocracy of our society is well underway
@@ex59neo53 Yeah. He designed the P-38 lightning. That's how he came to the attention of Lockheed and when the plane had some bad flight characteristics he figured it out.
The Apollo went to the Moon on the backs of slide rules and let’s not forget Smoley’s Tables, we had a building where the computer was located but all it did was consume lots of light dimming electricity to do the payroll. We had to use our brains to create the Apollo system and nearly everyone involved in engineering had at least one patent (credited, about 1670 new ideas) Yes it was all done with slide rules. I still have my K&E and my book of Smoley’s Tables and enjoy amazing the grandkids solving equations faster than they can using their computers. John
Adrian Newey, the chief designer for the Red Bull Formula 1 racing team, is widely acknowledged to do all his work with paper, pencil and (presumably electronic) calculator, and his cars dominate F1, at least until he decided to move to another team or just retire at the end of this season. But he is widely believed to be able to see air.
TECHNICAL ADDENDUM: I am adding clarification for technical details as experts chime in. Please do remember: we share beautiful knowledge with patience on the channel. Good teacher = patient teacher. Contribute, but be on point or I'll probably prune the chatter.
*Regarding the "ramjet" or "turboramjet" qualities of the SR-71 engine and intake:* The bypass tubes at the J58 jet engine do indeed give the jet engine some "ramjet" qualities, since they're bypassing the combustor and turbine. However, it is not accurate to say it is a ramjet. From the J58 jet engine wikipedia page: "It was a conventional afterburning turbojet for take-off and acceleration to Mach 2 and then used permanent compressor bleed to the afterburner above Mach 2. The way the engine worked at cruise led it to be described as "acting like a turboramjet". It has also been described as a turboramjet based on incorrect statements describing the turbomachinery as being completely bypassed." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_J58 To be clear, we're talking about the *J58 jet engine* only! The *intake spike and bypass air* isn't ignited or burned in any way, so that part of the system is also not a ramjet. A commenter did, however, add some expert-level feedback to my research, which I'm grateful for: @banzaiib • 2 hours ago (edited) great video, but the bypass air doesn't, by itself, create thrust. That would violate the laws of thermodynamics. It's the pressure injection into the afterburner section where it is burned, that allows a ram-jet like boost in afterburner performance, that creates all the additional thrust at 2.2 mach and beyond. It turns the afterburner section into more of a rocket-combustion chamber. The ideal pressure at the nozzle exit is the same as atmospheric at the given altitude, if you can believe that, so the nozzle flexes to adjust the pressure and maximizes the outlet velocity.
The *bypass tubes* take air from the *4th stage of the compressor* as per the design. I just didn't feature that point as clearly in the video, but my model is correct. There's a manifold at that location, and the tubes connect further aft. See this screenshot I've taken from my model, with labels: imgur.com/KDEfylq
@RV6Pilot At 35:35 I have a correction: the map projector used 35mm film. There was a larger screen for the back seat. The front cockpit map was based on WAC charts with height, speed, and route. The film moved in sync with the plane’s speed. Part of my job was loading the map projectors for the next day’s flights and taking the projectors out to the planes.
@thomastegen8020 First of all great video. One major mistake in the artwork though. At 2:44 take a look at the image on the rudder. The jet has been photobombed by Oscar the Blackcats logo from the U-2 det in Korea. I’m sure the fellow Blackcats alumni will totally get a kick out of this 😂😂. Note for the creators, SR-71’s should be wearing a Habu. My (animgraffs) reply: "...I didn't spend as much time on the exterior details as the paint job was from a purchased model of just the exterior. Though I respect the accuracy check, because I know how particular such designations (numbers, decals, etc) can be."
@Animagraffs - As a tech_docs g33k who deployed VRML at its most primitive (early 1990s) ... I'm gob-smacked! This: I can imagine you getting together with Eagle Dynamics to do some work on their DCS models! ^5
Wooow! The extent of engineering on this thing is mind-boggling! ...and yet you manage to explain it all so simply! Phenomenal work! Thank you so much!
Vantastic work!! I am a retired USAF veteran that worked on the flightline as an electrical technician. You deserve an award for your efforts. Thank you.
İf 3d modeling and animating is a new language for human kind, you are one of the first translators of this language. What a great work. Thank you for sharing your experience.
I've seen my share of SR-71 videos, this is THE MOST detailed one by far. Most creator mention the tidbits with the engine spikes and the panel gap issue, but I've never seen someone explain in detail the flight controls mixer. Great job!
With years of experience as a technical illustrator for numerous NASA and DoD projects with major contractors like Martin Marietta, Sikorsky, and others, I am truly impressed by your outstanding presentation. The visual impact achieved through the use of a solids modeling approach to illustrate the relationship of moving components along with the strategic use of color to highlight key areas throughout the narrative simplifies complex subject matter, making it more accessible to audiences less familiar with physics and engineering. Your amazing work is as exceptional as the craft itself, my friend!
Watching this for free is a crazy feeling. Like I can’t wait to bring this info in conversation with people who have no idea what I’m talking about. Thank you!
I'm a pilot and avation enthusiast. You managed to not only impress me, but to teach me a few new things. Your content is so very well researched, presented perfectly and highly educational - way beyond of most that we can see and find today. Thank you very much!! Keep it up!
@@michaelc3977 your view doesn’t mean it’s “widely viewed”. Concorde is beautiful and impressive on its own, but Blackbird and Concorde are always the top 2 choices when it comes to the most beautiful aircraft, there’s no such big gap choosing which is the better.
I’m a jet engine mechanic and I have seen the back bird in person many times. It’s a really long big bird, thank you so much for the awesome detail of the way ahead of its time aircraft. Everyone that was involved are not of these earth, so many advanced technology was build to make the sr71 happen. I’m going to shared these video with all my friends and family that are interested in aviation.
Kelly Johnson and skunkworks knocked it out of the park with the sr-71 and i have to say you knocked it out of the park with this video. This by far the most comprehensive video on the most amazing plane ever to fly..ive owned 12 model rockets of the plane over the last 10 years and have had a love for it all my life! Thank you so much!!
I’m sorry for your loss but I hope the video makes you feel connected to your grandpa once again. I love using my late grandpa’s camera equipment for the same reason
It will never cease to amaze me that the greatest, fastest, most strikingly beautiful aircraft ever made was created with slide rules and drafted by hand. They didn’t have the benefit of computational fluid dynamics, CAD, 3D printing, 5+ axis CNCs etc. Yet, despite all that, it’s still unmatched over half a century later. An incredible feat of genius engineers, visionaries and machinists.
The story of how the got a hold of the titanium (sourced from the USSR of all places), and how they moved large assemblies of the plane around from factory to factory during construction, in secret is amazing as well. My Dad has stories of being an ATC during that time period, my avionics teacher has other stories of that time as an Army airman.
Or did they? Firstoff, I totally share the sentiments you expressed =] I just wanted to purpose that a lot of tech was extremely advanced in the 60s, and its development and power has been deliberately disseminated for particular reasons. AI is one such tech which I know for a fact was being used 14 years ago, so it must have had a pretty deep history beyond that =]
"Every part of this masterpiece is designed for its mission goals" is probably the most eloquent and concise summary of this amazing engineering marvel.
Best, SR-71 rendition I've ever seen. I work for the Museum of Flight in Seattle and we have a brand new unused inlet spike in the warehouse up at Paine Field. I wish they'd display it with one of the engines at the main museum. Your rendition of the spike back to the engine is close to perfect.
The plane and the video breakdown are nothing short of remarkable!!! How the engineers figured out all of the aerodynamic, physics and other intangibles for this work of art is astonishing.
As long as I can remember, the SR-71 has been my favorite plane. I first saw what I thought was an SR-71 at the Intrepid Museum in New York, but I later found out it was a Lockheed A-12. I finally got to see the SR-71 for the first time last month at The National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton. Such a legendary aircraft!
This video is so great ❤️ Had a poster of a Blackbird on my wall as a kid, now as an adult to experience such an amazing end to end documentary in so much technical detail... Really an absolute gift. Thank you!
As a pilot and fan of the SR-71, this video is just amazing. Perhaps a little slow paced but it takes a while for the brain to understand the breathtaking three-dimensional animations. @animagraffs should be nominated for whatever the UA-cam award is for technical and aesthetic excellence.
My uncle flew the blackbird out of Barksdale AFB in Bossier La. I got to go see the last take off out of there back in the late 70's. It was an awesome thing to watch. I am 70 years old now and I can close my eyes and still see it in my minds eye as it roared of the runway in to the sky. American ingenuity at its best.
We could very well see it's legacy continue. While it's retirement is thanks to satellites, nowadays, the nature of satellites are helpful in bring the next turn of the crank. Satellites have a very predictable and very well known timeline. They are easily defeated/hidden from. Also, very easy to take out if absolutely necessary. Even the SR could be quite the unfortunate surprise for a "spot check" of a base or area. Make something even harder to see on radar and faster? LOL...they may never even know something came to check on them.
This is very true even with all the sky watchers out there,we don't know what they have developed since and on the drawing boards now. Skunk Works has a habit of surprising us. Just have to wait and see.
My father, Major Willam Frazier, was an RSO test pilot at Edward’s AFB in the 70’s. Obviously, I grew up with this magnificent plane in my daily life. I would hear the harrowing stories all the time from him and the other pilots. I was fortunate enough to attend with him, Blackbird conventions in Reno and walk through the Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale California. He would describe to me the inner workings of the aircraft, the mechanics of the engines and even his first hand account of experiencing an unstart. It was difficult to picture many of these details, that is until your video. I have read nearly every book (including many that you sites in your follow up video) and I can say that you perfectly captured not only the technical and engineering aspects but also the emotional side of what this plane meant to so many of us. Years ago, I showed him the RSO cockpit illustrations in the SR-71 Declassified book. I watched awestruck as he tapped and slid his fingers on the page as if he was touching the knobs and switches again as he described everything to me. Unfortunately, we lost my father last year, it brings tear to my eye to think of him being able to see your work. Thank you for your meticulous effort, job well done. Thank you
I have no aviation background whatsoever and the explanation and the animation for the mixer is amazing. You describe it perfectly and the illustrations work in combination with the explanation to make me feel like I'm an expert on it. Very, very well done. My hats off to the chef!
I was an Avionics Communications specialist (328x0) stationed at Beale AFB and worked on these fantastic machines. This video provides such great insights on so any of the items we knew about this jet but graphically explains how and why it works. For instance I knew that the Nacelles produced greater thrust than the afterburners but couldn’t exactly explain how it was done. Further we were in contact with the crew from launch to recovery and could hear the grunts and pauses when a SAM launch was detected and evasive maneuvers were underway sometimes resulting in the “inlet unstart” you spoke of. I believe that modifications were made when an unstart occurred that forced the ruddervators to the opposite direction to prevent the possible loss of consciousness for the crew by reducing the impact of their helmets hitting the sides of the cockpit. You did a great job of describing the engine starting process and the twin (Buick 400?) engines revving - sounded incredible and was especially exciting when the TEB was injected for the green flash that occurred! Comm specialists were among a few that were present for preflight testing and this was a treat to be a part of! Fantastic work!
Italian here. You know, American exceptionalism gets a bit much sometimes - but there two things that do show that exceptionalism: jazz, and the SR-71. It’s such a feat of engineering, and sheer power, it impresses me more than any other bit of technology. It’s so… analog. So overengineered. It’s made for people to gawk at it and go “holy shit”, after all this time. Absolutely fantastic achievement - and your video had me with my jaw to the floor the whole time. Thank you so much!!!
I could imagine American exceptionalism is pretty tiresome. I know you don't know because you listen to jazz, but basically all of aviation is all American. Everything else is just a copy. We invented all of it. All of it. All of it. All of it. All of it. And also, we've got about two dozen aircraft that are as complicated or more complicated than the SR 71. 2/3 of which were invented when Europe was still trying to figure out deodorant and dental care. The computer you use, the phone you are using now, the Internet, UA-cam, what the hell isn't because of American exceptionalism is more the question. I've never heard of an Italian space shuttle.. or an Italian XB70. Every other good aircraft to come out of Europe heavily involved the Brits. And even then they maintain very close ties to American Aerospace, which gave them the skills and knowledge. You can't just take technology that was completely invented by somebody else, add 10% of your own ideas, and then take credit for the whole thing turn around and balk at the people who gave it to you. You should show more respect for the people who gave you your entire modern life. I will, however, give you credit for pizza, crime and a strong hair oil industry.
@@InvertedFlightYou lost me at "I know you don't know because you listen to jazz" - what a weird assumption to make about someone, true or not lmao. Much as it is indeed true that modern technology, civilian or military, has (largely) indeed come out of America (let's pretend post-war Germany and Japan don't exist, and the the Industrial Revolution didn't start in Britain) - the type of sentiment you bring forward, with having to discredit everything and everyone else, and for good measure throw in a couple of fantasticly racist remark, is EXACTLY why the rest of the world rolls their eyes at Americans (or at least, those that come forward this way to strangers), regardless of objective (and largely only technological) merits. Also, don't forget Leonardo Da Vinci was conceptualising flying machines WAY ahead of any technology that would be available for the following few centuries, while Europeans (mostly Italians, at that time, go figure) were still trying to figure out if they had landed in India or not by crossing the atlantic ;) And as far as "people who brought me modern life" - they also brought a fascist coup attempt in the early '70s, to Italy (hi CIA!), so yeah, I'll keep my opinions about American exceptionalism. The SR-71 is great tho! And I'm typing this while listening to Bill Evans, thanks for him too!
@@InvertedFlight Who invented the jet engine? The british. first commercial jetliner? The british. Who invent the rocket? The germans. Who invented the computer? The british. You're actually insane. Americans may have mass produced and improved these things and have invented many great things too, no doubt, but invented them? Plain factually wrong. Your american exceptionalism is showing.
"Perhaps what makes this (documentary) so special, is its rarity. To have the proper people come together.....and be allowed to flex their talents fully, is apparently a very rare thing indeed and often results in (video) legends that persist." An awesome job Jake!
The fact that a machine like the SR71 Blackbird exists at all is nothing short of a miracle. The fact it was being designed and created in the early 1960s is absolutely astounding. The complexity of the many, many different systems that make up the Blackbird would be a very tall task to conquer even today with the assistance of AI, digital 3d modeling, computer simulations, and 60+ years of accumulated experience/data. In the late 1950s to the early 1960s, none of that was available. Every single piece of every single component, that made up every single system in the Blackbird had to be painstakingly and manually designed, modeled, prototyped, tested, modified, retested, and eventually certified as a final production spec component. The number of man hours and the amount of dedication necessary to accomplish this feat is absolutely mind boggling. This excellent video helps to put into perspective what we as a species is capable of accomplishing if we just put in the effort. If you're honest with yourself, regardless of where you may stand regarding the politics, morality, or justification of the SR71 Blackbird, the fact that it exists is both extremely impressive and very humbling all at the same time.
Well done to you. Six years ago, I was a design engineer working at NASA/JSC and using CAD software. Your work is mind blowing and is far better than I could have ever produced. Thank you for showing us how the SR-71 did its thing. P.S., not only the visual content, but the hardware explanation was top notch.
17:11 For me, the most important part of this video and currently the best explanation possible to understand the concept behind the ram-jet effect and how this mind-bending engine works!!! No one was able to explain this as good as you did! Congrats for such achievement!
This is probably the most intense I've focused on a UA-cam video but man was it worth it. I'm a qualified mechanical engineer with a love for loving things, and what you said at the end about the rarity of the aeroplane is what makes it legendary. What I would give to have been even the smallest cog in that team back then would've changed my life. It's sad to think that a plane such as this will not see the light of day at present, what due to restricting regulations and costs. I trust you will continue with these gold mines of information for time to come because I think I've just discovered my favourite UA-cam video of all time. You are doing God's work for those of us who strive to learn and understand and take forward the engineering world.
This is the cooolest video on the internet bar none; as a layman, i have read everything I could find on this plane, but have never found such a comprehensive, detailed explanation of all of the unique features of this masterpiece. Kudos! Eagerly awaiting your next!
If we had this level of fidelity and detail when we did MCE, I cant comprehend the possibilities I personally could've achieved. This video deserves 100 million views. And to the minds that built this machine's every component; We are not the same *hat tip*
I’ve seen, touched and watched the SR-71 fly, but never seen a video with such amazing detail and information about this incredible aircraft. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. This 75 yr old is yet again awe inspired by this pre-computer designed plane.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ By far one of the best videos I've seen on youtube. Thank you so much. As a mechanical engineer and RC pilot I truly appreciate all the effort put in. I wish all videos were this clear and well researched, with this amount of detail.
This is incredible. Thank you. The level of engineering here is almost unbelievable. Amazing Machine, and an equally impressive level of explanation. Been an SR Fan forever and never knew alot of this mechanical info.
I'm just an industrial designer, but this kept me as entertained as an engineer. Especially the wing controls mechanism... It's like seeing a work of clockwork. So simple but so complex at the same time. Without a doubt my favorite part of the entire explanation, but the rest is no waste 55 minutes flew by! Excellent way to segment everything, Your level of 3D modeling in Blender, animation, etc. is excellent. For explanatory purposes you could make it even simpler and you took the trouble to make it so detailed in parts, shapes and colors... You deserve more than a like or a view. Thanks from Spain.
Didn't expected THAT amount of new and precise information! Thought I've seen everything about the SR-71 back and forth, but this was really awesome. Thank you so much for all the work!
The most interesting thing, I believe, is how they used to start this. There was a starter cart with two big-block Buick V8's. They were tied together and linked to the actual turbine. After spinning the turbine to abt 4500RPM, they would disconnect the linkage. They later used Chevy engines but still cried out "Start the Buicks" to get it going.
@TomPauls007 from another video of a former pilot who gave an interview of the J58 at Air Zoo, he said they switched to Chevy because they picked every single Buick 400 V8 from every place including junk yards. Evidently the Buicks sounded the best too lol
This is an incredible channel that presents information in much better fashion than others. The engineers that developed this aircraft were wizards when the date of deployment is taken into account. Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets.
This is probably the best video in the world when it comes to explaining the workings of the Blackbird. Prior to this, I had no idea about the linkages and steerage mechanism. Well researched and presented!!!
This is just amazing. I've been obsessed with this plane my entire life, it's just the brighest example to summarize how awesome and beautiful mechanic engineering can be. I think I knew more than a lot about the SR-71, but this thing you made kept me literally jaw dropped like a child for 55 minutes straight. You sir are an artist. Thanks for everything you've gifted to all of us.
I know I'm just repeating what most of the others already wrote but...your videos are incredible. The level of detail and understanding the mechanics is just beyond believe. Just brilliant. I've noticed few imperfections you fixed on-flow but that makes you even more reliable. Thank you for this stuff.
Special thanks to Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Museum (ua-cam.com/users/AirZoo), retired SR-71 Pilots Jerry Glasser and Buz Carpenter, and Arnie Gunderson (retired Pratt & Whitney J58 PM). It's an absolute honor to work with folks as legendary as the subjects I cover!
Hats of to them
Hey Jake, can you do a front loader next? I always wondered how that big hinged steering system worked (ig. if it was hydro-mechanical or purely hydraulic). As well as how they are powered; Are they diesel mechanical or diesel electric? Do they use a spiral transmission like a snowblower or a traditional geared transmission? Are they AWD, 4WD, or RWD? I’d love to see all the systems up close.
Great work again! Keep it up
Next Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor!!
now do a video where you show americans got their ROI
Dear Animagraff, the work that u put in is mind boggling, with each video I am amazed by the amount of details and technical understanding. And explain it to the public with easy to follow animations. I love each one of your videos, myself I am an aircraft maintenance technician and I admire this video. Keep up the good work.
I've been a pilot for 30 years, I have never once been able to explain the SR 71 with such clarity. I've never heard anybody explain it well. This is one of the most complex airplanes to understand. And you made it so simple a child can understand it. Very skillfully done my friend.
You said it perfectly, but I’ve been around since the RS-71 😉😆
Interesting to note the pilot's take on this Vid. I agree is excellent. More, the best such I reckon I've ever seen.
Being an amateur, it means not much I guess - me noting, as far as I can see, complete lack of mistakes.
The thing is, some vids out there, make basic enough errors, even a know little like me, can spot 'em ;)
thank you
This guy should be making these for all branches military mechanics school
@@hotstepper887 I read your posts, but they are long and after awhile it’s difficult to absorb it all. I agree that Russian military equipment is more advanced than the West portrays it to be as a whole, but not just the US portrays. That’s how it should be - Called propaganda. Everyone does it, including Russia. Russians are very experienced with military equipment, not newcomers to the playing field. I will say that few of us actually have all of the specs on any recent military creations. That’s why it’s hard to do a 1 for 1 comparison. Look at how long it took for us to get more info on the SR-71. I wouldn’t be so confident about what anyone knows about the F22. Just like you may not know all the specs for Russia equipment. It took a long time for the B2 to be revealed. There’s a lot we don’t know.
Back to the subject, this wonderful video is about the SR-71, not anything else. Let us enjoy the blackbird in all of its glory!
The fact that this is free is such a privilege. The quality of your videos is second to none. Amazing work.
Agree
True. But don't forget if it's free, then your the product.
Bravo Amen
Well said.
Careful, UA-cam may catch on.
20min in , and I realized why I’m still watching, you talk slow, and have pauses in between sentences, it lets me to think and comprehend what I’ve just heard, thank so much for that, just that is gold, finally a narrator that gets it!!!!
Plus the voice is not irritating
same for me i watched it almost entirely without hesitation
This is so true when I think about it. Brilliant cadence to the narrator thank you
funny you mention that. i cant watch videos anymore where the creator removes every little pause in their speaking, so it sounds like a 10 minute long sentence. I just can't do it. I find myself holding my breath while they talk because it seems like they aren't breathing.
I'm pretty sure "the narrator" is the writer/creator. I would hope he "gets" it. But yes, superb work. One of the very best.
I was stationed at Beale AFB from 75 to 79. I was a maintenance specialist on the sr-71 and u2 cart. Was very proud to be a part of the 9th srw!
In thay case you'd be sure to know that it's running gine in active duty still as she's just made the atlantic crossing and is set to make the return over the Chinese plateau in about 15 mins from now21.58pm Bst Sat 3rd Aug ..I got visual and foto 🫡 🖖 🫡
Thank you for your service buddy
They are the reason you have area 51 and they have lost a couple of them in crash's and they have another one that's slightly different called something else side by side they pretty much identical can't remember it name
@@regandunn4850 I'm not sure which aircraft you were referring to, but there is the TR-1 in the U-2 family and in the SR family, started with A-12, YF-12, M/D-21, SR-71 A and B
@@alansimmons7732 I was there & a mechanic on the SR-71 I ended up with 27 years USAF
As a mechanical engineer, I can't begin to express how much value your videos bring to young minds. With the internet filled with misinformative AI generated videos, your videos give me hope in the future of tomorow. On behalf of all of us.. thank you Jake and please never stop what you are doing. They will use your videos for hundreds of years to teach the future generations, well done my friend!
The engineers who built this plane in the 1950s did it using slide rules. The computers then were about as advanced as scientific calculators today. Incredible.
Kelly Johnson and crew over at skunk works were absolute geniuses.
Wonder why didn't Chinese copy this plane back then? Guess no Chinese engineers work at Lockheed Martin that time. Also, no computer to hack. LOL!!!
@@simbatortie9684 Well, they may have actually been able to get the needed titanium directly from the Soviet Union instead of having to acquire it through multiple shell companies as the CIA so cleverly did. However, I don't think they would have been able to afford it lol. I think that would have likely been their first hurdle. The second, even _if_ they had access to the complete blueprint, they wouldn't have had the engineering know-how at the time to pull it off, as you said. Kelly Johnson, and the Skunk Works guys were (and still are) on another level. Also, it definitely helped to have the full power of the CIA at their disposal for the budget, and the completely legitimate sourcing of titanium from our enemy that definitely wasn't being used against them by engineering & building most advanced reconnaissance plane ever to spy on them with. 😏🤣
I wander how many are willing to learn these days sometimes
Dear Animagraffs, you're right, there can never be "too much material online" when it comes to the subject of the SR-71 Blackbird. And even if this field of study was indeed saturated, there would still be room for your beautiful illustrations and clear concise explanations because there is no channel - on the whole of the internet - that can deliver what you bring to the table. The professional teaching material (created with profits in mind) wouldnt have a chance of delivering the clarity that you do.
Bravo, again, on such beautiful work that it feels like a crime to watch it for free. Im not in a position to pay for what its worth, so please consider this small token to be just a thought gesture of my appreciation.
55 min on the most badass plane ever designed, engineered and produced. Instant like and watch
I can’t just watch this while I’m driving like a regular video; this requires my full attention!
This isn’t the A12 archangel vid😅
And yet Concorde did all this on the daily while gracefully carrying 100 champagne sipping passengers.
@@michaelc3977would it be possible to use a double hull. Inner aluminum hull at 30 °C so that passengers don’t sweat too much and an outer hull made of titanium. The tail is cold and made of aluminum. The titanium hull is attached there. Behind the nose a ceramic ball bearing and a watt linkage align the hulls similar to a suspension in a car. Dampers and springs in included.
Rudder, and ailerons can also be made of aluminum
The 747 bowing is the best jet and has made more money sir.get your facts straight
I was a FTD instructor for the SR-71 while I was in the US Air Force. I wish I had that video as a training aid. We had great training aid that showed the different systems worked along with lighted boards I will that video is OUTSTANDING.
An hour long Animagraffs video? And on the SR71?! Yes!
Another outstanding video Jake!
Holy fuck we all came to comment this before even watching 😂
Exactly
This is like Christmas for me. I'm gonna binge Animagraffs until I puke.
As much of a treat as it is...ultimately the SR-71 NEEDS an hour long video just to thoroughly explain all of the highly technical nuances of all its subsystems. Truly a remarkable achievement for mankind.
I second that motion!!! 🤠👍🇺🇸
Bro how the hell did you even begin to put this together. My dad and Uncle worked on these many decades ago and love to tell me stories about it. Now I get to show them how it actually all worked through your video. Thank you. What a gift.
Oh god we are in for a treat
Bad choice. Promoting US military, who drain US tax base, while supporting genocide in the Middle East.
As Americans suffer.
I've never clicked on a video faster
This is exactly what I said…I was like ohhhh mannn here we go.
@@DudeWhoSaysDeez exactly
O yes
It's absolute insanity this jet was made in the 60's, I love how detailed this video is.
With slide-rules, no Google.
@@NegativeROG word, shit is crazy
@@NorCalDubber One has to wonder what we have now. I guess we’ll find out in 40 years!
Truly!
@@oberonpanopticon What we have now is presidents allowing foreign countries to slow fly data gathering ballons over entire countries, thereby negating the need for developing such machinery...at least one president anyhow.
This plane was so far ahead of its time. I still can't believe all the cutting edge engineering that went into the SR71.
And it was designed with nothing more than an idea a slide ruler, and lots of paper. No computers.
26:21 i'm impressed with this nitrogen container.. this was invented in 60s, same age with b747, and could save twa 800 in 96..
Lots of conventional common sense
As a former fuel system repair specialist that was attached to the 9th SRW, my friend you did an awesome job.
What does your position have to do with your opinion of his video. Or did you just want people to think you were some sort of somebody.
Thank you for your service!
PLEASE ignore the mope "Otis-Tank", he's in need of a diaper change and a new country to live in.
Dude, the 9th SRW (strategic reconnaissance wing) was equipped with reconnaissance aircraft including the SR-71. As a man who knows his stuff from servicing this type of craft, he's commending the creator of the video for his excellent presentation. Put two and two together.
@@Otis-Tank mmm this might be one of the most dense responses on UA-cam… I wonder what your favourite flavour crayon is?
@@Otis-Tank That public education really serving you well 🤣🤣🤣
In the mid 80’s, I was at Avial in Burbank, California to witness a test of a freshly rebuilt Allison 501 engine. Sitting to one side on a stand was a strange looking engine. When I asked, they told me it was an engine from an SR-71, and was one of two they were rebuilding. They weren’t allowed to let me see the one in the shop, but they were happy to give me a close up look at the one on the test stand. They even let me watch as they ran it in the test cell. It was one of the best workdays I ever had. Very, very cool.
That is a great story. Can't imagine seeing a functioning SR-71 J58 engine on a workday sans plane. :) awesome.
Former Boeing engineer here, from the days of hand drawn Mylar drawings the 1980’s. This video is an incredible creation and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it. It reminds me of when coworkers would suddenly disappear from their usual work station with no notice. One day they were there working, the next day they were gone - with no ‘goodbye’ or explanation. They had been sucked into ‘black’ projects like the SR 71, where secrecy was absolutely paramount. Some people had such high security clearances and specialized skills that they could never transfer out to another department. They had to literally quit the company instead. Want to travel out of town to visit family etc? Gotta file a request first, have it approved, then file a report afterwards about who you met and where you went. Secrecy was (and still is) serious business. Truly sensitive national security information is withheld from people who are not vetted and 100% trusted, even presidents.
I'm an SR-71 nerd and for the longest time I couldn't help but watch anything Blackbird related. After a while, I hit my point of satiation. I've watched dozens of documentaries about this plane. I got it. So i stopped watching as much stuff about this plane, ignored this video in my feed a few times.
But finally my inner nerd won and I'm 8 minutes in. I gotta say, holy crap dude, this is incredible. How everything is named, highlighted and shown in detail... Just incredible. It makes so much sense. It also demonstrates how dang smart the engineers were.
Well said and great comment.
Completely agree.
They didn't call it the skunkworks for nothin
Awesome Video, and hats off to the Skunk Works for designing this plane without computers. Even the flight computer was designed by hand.
@@bgaguy1 Computers have destroyed engineering.
I'm absolutely blown away. This is by far the most complete and engaging collection of information about the SR-71 I've seen on the web. Another amazing piece of work, Jake! Definitely one for the history books.
Yup, a true masterpiece of a video, once again !
The engineers did this without today's tech and modeling capabilities. Just incredible engineering and ingenuity.
I heard that some modern engineers used computers to study this plane design ,and it was almost perfect :)
That just goes to show that... When a particular type of people are pushed to the limit (protect an ideology) they will do what would otherwise have been impossible...this is in the context of this amazing reconnaissance vehicle during the cold war
Couldn't agree more...
This video is explained perfectly yet still extremely challenging to understand without several passes.
That also excludes the fact that this video is an explanation of a system that was already designed, not one being designed for the first time
To think that engineers innovated so many different areas of this system in the 60s is incredible...
While the jet was a military weapon and not a civilian one, it's technological marvels like this that inspire generations to come.
It's just sad that the cold war was the excuse for massive RnD investments to create these. I think at heart the engineers don't care about the wartime use, but want to make the most innovative and perfect systems possible. It's simply that the threat of the cold war gave near unlimited budgets to military RnD allowing creations like this.
The space race was presented to the public as a purely humanitarian effort to explore space but in reality was funded for the ability to launch nuclear ICBMs.
The XB-70 Valkyrie (supersonic strategic nuclear bomber, similar in goals to the SR71 Blackbird) was canned because of the innovations of ICBMs, meaning the project funding got scaled back significantly.
Even the origins of the Internet come from ARPANET, which was part of the Department of Defences Advanced Research Projects Agency...
GPS, Nuclear power generation... I could go on...
The point is that many of the most groundbreaking technological innovations seem to originate from Cold War military RnD, even if the military application wasn't immediately obvious.
We shouldn't need war as an excuse to invest into RnD, and we shouldn't rely on the private sector to innovate these solutions. Do you think SpaceX and Blue Origin would exist if not for the already achieved innovation and inspiration done by NASA in the 50s and 60s? The fact It took another 60 years for a private company to put a car in orbit should be a good indicator 😄
@@ex59neo53 it wasn't almost perfect it was perfect and they went on to say that no improvement could be made
Computers make things faster for skilled people and possible for unskilled people but they don't change the outcome otherwise at least not until AI starts designing things
Bruh, the engineers and technicians had to basically live in a wind tunnel for a few years. No other way to be so precise on the hull design without seeing the air movement in real time.
I blown away the complexicity of design and internal parts and they designed long ago . amazing
What fascinates me the most about the Blackbird is that they managed to create it mostly with hand-drawings/sketches/blueprints without a CAD software, cfd simulation software etc
They used to say that Kelly Johnson could "see air". Greatest aircraft designer of all time.
@@lanbldr Hall Hibbard, Johnson's Lockheed boss, referring to Johnson's Swedish ancestry, once remarked to Ben Rich: "That damned Swede can actually see air."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Johnson_(engineer)
Right?
Long productive days at rows of drafting tables.
A lot of cigarettes, a lot of coffee, with team lead Kelly Johnson, Lockheed Skunk Works, under CIA direction ...
What a team.
The greatest generation, USA's finest hour.
it was how EVERYTHING was done for hundreds of years if not thousands regarding every leading tech of any era...it is sad to hear someone say that considering software has only really been around proper for 40 odd years. Most everything in the world was put there pre computers, they are the future world and not the one you live in for at least still 75% of engineering that is greater than 40 years old.
@@Cloudminster No other piece of tech compares, designing something to cruise as the border of known physical limits at the edge of space is insane to do just offhand
That mixer alone is a marvel of analog computing, I can't imagine the amount of calculations that went into that. The fact that the aircraft was designed likely without CAD software is another statement to the incredible intellect behind the Blackbird project.
The power of the pencil and a slide rule!
This was my favorite peice to learn about. I can't believe how ingenious we as human can be.
@@KingRed36 that was the triumph of the Skunk works, the right environment for good ideas to flourish. My father was briefly an engineering lecturer. His boss said that if you want to train good engineers, surround them with good engineering.
As an Aeromodeler over 40 years this mechnical mixer is lot more complex that those employed on models! What amazes me more is the NUMBER of linkages (bellcranks etc) requiring high tolerances to avoid 'slop' (dead stick) between pilot and tip elevons ... over long distances .... along and across an airframe that changes length significantly with temperature changes. A whole video could discuss how such problems are overcome. I have made simple (simple is better KISS) mechanical mixers for V tails, and and an analogue mixer with LM324 op amps (in the transmitter). Now of course modern radio control has all that built in digitally.
Another interesting aspect is that (military grade) servos were not employed instead of all those linkages AND hydaulics. This could be for many reasons; MTBF in hostile environments, pilot preference, fire risk from electrio mechanical devices and power sources near fuel, long wire runs vulnerable to electrical counter measures or just plain resistance, to name but a few.
@@MrZoomZone Very interesting
If any aircraft ever deserved this level of explanation, SR-71 is it. The Blackbird was a marvel of innovation and brute strength. Thank you for this.
The Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird is a remarkable aircraft that represents the pinnacle of aerospace engineering. Its combination of speed, altitude, and reconnaissance capabilities make it one of the most iconic and legendary aircraft ever built.
What is its successor?
Man, the way you add and take away parts when talking about a specific thing is amazing. Takes me back to my childhood looking at those old "Cutaways" books or whatever they were called.
Stephen Biesty
I had Stephen Biesty's incredible "Man of War" book. I spent hours with it, over years of time. I was always asking to break apart old appliances, radios, tvs, etc because I just HAD to know what's inside. How all that magic was being made
@@animagraffs We are the same when it comes to wanting to know what was inside of things and how they worked! Unfortunately for me I wasn't also blessed with the ability (or patience) to create these wonderfully animated 3D videos as well like you have been 🤣Seriously GREAT job on all of the videos you've done and I can't wait to see what you do next. The steam train video so far is my absolute favorite.
@@animagraffs I loved that book, amazing job on the animations.
EDIT: I'm stupid. The software used is literally in the video description box. IGNORE BELOW
How are these types of graphical models/renders made? (Like in this video)
I can never find any information about what software was used :(
NEARLY AN HOUR WITH YOUR ATTENTION TO DETAIL?
WOW!
Thank you mayne...
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! This showed up in my recommended yesterday, and I thought «no way I'm watching an hour-long vid about this», yet I sat through it all and was begging for more.
My dad, who was an aviation enthusiast, died at 49 y.o. in 94 (I was 18) and when I was a kid, I bought a model kit of that plane for him, and it sat proudly on his dresser until he passed. I've always found that aircraft fascinating and so did he. When the internet came along, I found out it was even MORE impressive than I ever thought. To build this with the limited means available back in the day was nothing short of a miracle.
Thank you for a VERY Excellent presentation! I have learned more about the SR-71 than ever before.
The graphics are excellent. The narration is well-paced and in a pleasant voice.
I have known about the aircraft in general terms, of course, for a very long time.
I have been around and interested in aerospace systems almost all my life.
My grandfather served in the British RAF from 1917 to 1947. My father served two years in the RAF, then worked for many years as an aeronautical engineer.
When I was in the US Marine Corps, for a while I was stationed on Okinawa, and often saw the SR-71 E😮aircraft arriving or departing. But at that time we were not allowed to talk about them.
The flying squadron was nicknamed "Habu" (a local deadly viper) and the aircraft had an image of the Habu snake on the tails.
Incredible breakdown man! I used to work on old Sikorsky H-3 helicopters and make parts for them. What the engineers designed mechanically and hydraulically in the 50's was pure genius to me. And they didnt have CAD! Things like the mixer for the flight controls on the SR-71. How brilliant. Entirely mechanical. No stupid computers.
There is a SR71 at the Air museum here in McMinnville Oregon. A docent told us about when a former Soviet fighter pilot visited the museum. He walked up to the Blackbird, grabbed the wing and said "Caught you at last".
@grahamrankin4725 There is a SR-71 trainer at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan as well. There is also a Start Cart to go with it. It's an astounding plane to simply walk around.
Ha, great anecdote. Such a thrill to see the Lead Sled at the Smithsonian in Virginia.
Over 6 decades old and it looks as futuristic as ever.
My grandfather worked for Lockheed Skunk Works at Area 51 back in the 60s and helped build the engines that power it. Considering it was designed in the 50s and flew in the 60s it's absolutely inconceivable how the engineers at Lockheed designed this masterpiece of aerodynamics using slide rules and drafting paper. I'm sad I never got to talk to him about it, but it still remains one of my all time favorite aircraft.
Seeing just how beautifully complex things like the engines or control mixer are and how gracefully they operate is a true testament to the brilliant minds and cutting edge mechanical engineering of the Blackbird. It's very difficult to deny that the SR-71 is one of the greatest aircraft of all time.
Excellent detail and explanation of this incredible plane. My favorite aircraft since i was a kid, I’m 58 now😮. I have models and posters of it everywhere. I’ve watched a lot of documentaries on this but you have taken it to a new level, thank you for all the time and effort.
My grandfather worked for Northrop Grumman on stealth fighters
We truly do stand on the shoulders of giants. Salute to your ancestors.
Even as a 90/2000's kid, the Blackbird still has the look of sleek science fiction, and a legendary reputation that I can't help but respect, that machine is a monument to exceptional Aerospace design and ingenuity.
That and I can't help but laugh knowing that the Titianum used to build the plane was (sneakily) bought from Russia, then used to make an aircraft they could never touch, Pilots watching missiles fail to catch them and fall behind in the wake of this plane as it screamed past at speeds most aircraft designers can only dream of achieving these days
Sure he did 🙄
“Just outrun the missiles” is the most badass flex in history
"The missle has become tired and is feeling sleepy weepy" 😂
i always wondered if they can make something that goes as fast as a missile, like a missile, why can't they build a plane or jet that travels just as fast.
This worked at the time, but try this strategy nowadays with the hypersonic missiles 💀💀
XR-71: “I’m the fastest crewed aircraft and can fly over Mach 3”
.X-15: “Hold my beer”.
@@seasong7655 pretty sure there arent any hypersonic air-to-air missiles currently
A masterpiece animation with poignant information...the creator merits an award 🔥🔥🔥
My father was a USAF air traffic controller during the Vietnam War. His stories of the SR-71 Blackbird captivated my imagination like little else as a young boy. Thank you for bringing this engineering marvel to the public in such astounding clarity and detail.
This aircraft is even more impressive considering it first flew in 1966. It was a step of almost alien technology. But the quality of this video is also unbelievable. I've been an airline pilot since 1989, and this was, without a doubt, the most detailed video, among those not exclusively for pilot training, that I've ever watched. It's way above the level of a documentary. My sincerest congratulations to you for the unbelievable work done
Actually it is even more impressive as the first flight of any Blackbird (an A12) was in April of 1962!!
August of 1963 saw the YF12A interceptor version have its first flight.
And was December of 1964 that the SR71 and the M21 had their first flights.
If there was an award for the best made / best edited UA-cam video. This would win it.
Best description of anything I've ever heard
I served in the US Air Force for 21 years on active duty and my first duty station was Okinawa, Japan, in 1989, and the SR-71 Habu was there and it was amazing watching it fly. The SR-71 Blackbird is my all time favorite plane and I learned a few things I did not know before from watching your video. Very informative. Keep it up!
What was your role there?
@@dannydaw59 chef
I had just joined the Air Force in Dec of 1983. After training and weld training at Chanute in IL. My first assignment was Kadena AB in Okinawa, Japan. I was assigned to the 376FMS (Field Maintenence Squadron) where I weld repaired KC135 & RC135 aircraft and support equipment. Lucky for me the welder for the 9th SRW took a month off before I was even certified as an aircraft welder. Despite that, I got to go the the Blackbird hangers and be their welder for a month. Then I got to fill in when he rotated back Stateside. So the last half of 1985. Needless to say I felt so honored to be one of rhe few to get to weld this back together after the punishment it took flying in thin air at mach3+. The most delicate and precise welding I have ever done in my life. I also fell in Love with the Okinawan people and the Island. Great memories!!!
(I had a year long vocational training as a welder before joining the Air Force)
@@gregfrance1894 thats insane. Welding this kind of sensitive material knowing the pressures it had to take. I assume there was no room for welding accidents. "Let me grind it off right quick" type thing 😁🫣
That’s a deadly viper of a plane! A. J. C., III 20 Apr 24
An absolute masterpiece of engineering and my favorite aircraft ever. Kelly Johnson, the leader of the Lockheed Martin "Skunkworks" was a genius.
I met an SR-71 Blackbird pilot at a flight-school presentation once, and he had some very cool stories to tell about the airplane.
This video was amazing and showed me a number of things I had never even heard of on the SR-71.
Remember, this airplane was made in the 1960s, so imagine what kind of amazing thing they have now!
Hart and cellar act killed our creativity
Most of the cool stuff is just growing old and falling apart as more and more people become incompetent and just plain stupid each year. The geniuses that made the blackbird are becoming more rare by the day and the growing Idiocracy of our society is well underway
SR-71 was not even the first KJ jewel :)
@@ex59neo53 Yeah. He designed the P-38 lightning. That's how he came to the attention of Lockheed and when the plane had some bad flight characteristics he figured it out.
This video should be part of national archives. Excellent work.
I was just saying to myself that I have never seen a more detailed documentary in my life.
Absolutely peak.
It's been part of the USSR national archives for quite some time now...
And they did it all with slide rules. Absolutely amazing.
The Apollo went to the Moon on the backs of slide rules and let’s not forget Smoley’s Tables, we had a building where the computer was located but all it did was consume lots of light dimming electricity to do the payroll. We had to use our brains to create the Apollo system and nearly everyone involved in engineering had at least one patent (credited, about 1670 new ideas) Yes it was all done with slide rules. I still have my K&E and my book of Smoley’s Tables and enjoy amazing the grandkids solving equations faster than they can using their computers. John
Adrian Newey, the chief designer for the Red Bull Formula 1 racing team, is widely acknowledged to do all his work with paper, pencil and (presumably electronic) calculator, and his cars dominate F1, at least until he decided to move to another team or just retire at the end of this season. But he is widely believed to be able to see air.
Ha! I just commented the same thing three months later. Engineers were engineers back then,
The level of thought, dedication, and hours spent on this project is impressive. You should be proud of this video.
TECHNICAL ADDENDUM:
I am adding clarification for technical details as experts chime in. Please do remember: we share beautiful knowledge with patience on the channel. Good teacher = patient teacher. Contribute, but be on point or I'll probably prune the chatter.
*Regarding the "ramjet" or "turboramjet" qualities of the SR-71 engine and intake:*
The bypass tubes at the J58 jet engine do indeed give the jet engine some "ramjet" qualities, since they're bypassing the combustor and turbine. However, it is not accurate to say it is a ramjet. From the J58 jet engine wikipedia page:
"It was a conventional afterburning turbojet for take-off and acceleration to Mach 2 and then used permanent compressor bleed to the afterburner above Mach 2. The way the engine worked at cruise led it to be described as "acting like a turboramjet". It has also been described as a turboramjet based on incorrect statements describing the turbomachinery as being completely bypassed."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_%26_Whitney_J58
To be clear, we're talking about the *J58 jet engine* only!
The *intake spike and bypass air* isn't ignited or burned in any way, so that part of the system is also not a ramjet. A commenter did, however, add some expert-level feedback to my research, which I'm grateful for:
@banzaiib • 2 hours ago (edited)
great video, but the bypass air doesn't, by itself, create thrust. That would violate the laws of thermodynamics. It's the pressure injection into the afterburner section where it is burned, that allows a ram-jet like boost in afterburner performance, that creates all the additional thrust at 2.2 mach and beyond. It turns the afterburner section into more of a rocket-combustion chamber. The ideal pressure at the nozzle exit is the same as atmospheric at the given altitude, if you can believe that, so the nozzle flexes to adjust the pressure and maximizes the outlet velocity.
The *bypass tubes* take air from the *4th stage of the compressor* as per the design. I just didn't feature that point as clearly in the video, but my model is correct. There's a manifold at that location, and the tubes connect further aft. See this screenshot I've taken from my model, with labels: imgur.com/KDEfylq
@RV6Pilot
At 35:35 I have a correction: the map projector used 35mm film. There was a larger screen for the back seat. The front cockpit map was based on WAC charts with height, speed, and route. The film moved in sync with the plane’s speed. Part of my job was loading the map projectors for the next day’s flights and taking the projectors out to the planes.
@thomastegen8020
First of all great video. One major mistake in the artwork though. At 2:44 take a look at the image on the rudder. The jet has been photobombed by Oscar the Blackcats logo from the U-2 det in Korea. I’m sure the fellow Blackcats alumni will totally get a kick out of this 😂😂. Note for the creators, SR-71’s should be wearing a Habu.
My (animgraffs) reply:
"...I didn't spend as much time on the exterior details as the paint job was from a purchased model of just the exterior. Though I respect the accuracy check, because I know how particular such designations (numbers, decals, etc) can be."
@Animagraffs - As a tech_docs g33k who deployed VRML at its most primitive (early 1990s) ... I'm gob-smacked!
This: I can imagine you getting together with Eagle Dynamics to do some work on their DCS models!
^5
Great work Jake!...fantastic work..I am an old timey CAD guy and I get how much work it was doing this...BRAVO MAN!
Wooow! The extent of engineering on this thing is mind-boggling! ...and yet you manage to explain it all so simply! Phenomenal work! Thank you so much!
Vantastic work!! I am a retired USAF veteran that worked on the flightline as an electrical technician. You deserve an award for your efforts. Thank you.
İf 3d modeling and animating is a new language for human kind, you are one of the first translators of this language. What a great work. Thank you for sharing your experience.
I've seen my share of SR-71 videos, this is THE MOST detailed one by far. Most creator mention the tidbits with the engine spikes and the panel gap issue, but I've never seen someone explain in detail the flight controls mixer. Great job!
2,200 mph, 700 degrees at 85,000 feet in the air! An engineering marvel even today.
Wow.. the production values & work that went into this... dang.
The video or the Blackbird?
Is there an Emy award for outstanding doc. Videos.. you win young man..great job.
With years of experience as a technical illustrator for numerous NASA and DoD projects with major contractors like Martin Marietta, Sikorsky, and others, I am truly impressed by your outstanding presentation. The visual impact achieved through the use of a solids modeling approach to illustrate the relationship of moving components along with the strategic use of color to highlight key areas throughout the narrative simplifies complex subject matter, making it more accessible to audiences less familiar with physics and engineering. Your amazing work is as exceptional as the craft itself, my friend!
Watching this for free is a crazy feeling. Like I can’t wait to bring this info in conversation with people who have no idea what I’m talking about. Thank you!
I'm a pilot and avation enthusiast. You managed to not only impress me, but to teach me a few new things. Your content is so very well researched, presented perfectly and highly educational - way beyond of most that we can see and find today. Thank you very much!! Keep it up!
This is the most beautiful aircraft mankind have ever built.
Thanks for all the hardwork that you’ve done.
Beauty is on the eye of the beholder, however, Concorde is widely viewed as being a far more beautiful and technically impressive aircraft.
@@michaelc3977 your view doesn’t mean it’s “widely viewed”.
Concorde is beautiful and impressive on its own, but Blackbird and Concorde are always the top 2 choices when it comes to the most beautiful aircraft, there’s no such big gap choosing which is the better.
@@michaelc3977 Really, they took a poll to see which people thought was more beautiful? Both the Blackbird and Valkyrie have the Concord beat.
I’m a jet engine mechanic and I have seen the back bird in person many times. It’s a really long big bird, thank you so much for the awesome detail of the way ahead of its time aircraft. Everyone that was involved are not of these earth, so many advanced technology was build to make the sr71 happen. I’m going to shared these video with all my friends and family that are interested in aviation.
Kelly Johnson and skunkworks knocked it out of the park with the sr-71 and i have to say you knocked it out of the park with this video. This by far the most comprehensive video on the most amazing plane ever to fly..ive owned 12 model rockets of the plane over the last 10 years and have had a love for it all my life! Thank you so much!!
My grandpa who passed away in 2021 absolutely loved the Blackbird and he would've definitely loved this video if he was still alive today.
Don’t listen too him I found a lot of respect reading your comment sorry for your loss
@@williamtaylor7661 Thanks, William. At least someone around here can show some sympathy for once on the internet.
I’m sorry for your loss but I hope the video makes you feel connected to your grandpa once again. I love using my late grandpa’s camera equipment for the same reason
@@NotSsteVven828huh? Do you mean dark humor like “don’t bring emotions in lol” or dark humor about laughing
@@gatsbysgarage8389 Thank you, and I'm sorry for your loss as well.
As an aerospace engineer this is by far the best explanation of how this aircraft works. Loved every bit of the video 🔥💯
Take time and design its next three steps forward, you’ll have fun! A. J. C., III
It will never cease to amaze me that the greatest, fastest, most strikingly beautiful aircraft ever made was created with slide rules and drafted by hand.
They didn’t have the benefit of computational fluid dynamics, CAD, 3D printing, 5+ axis CNCs etc. Yet, despite all that, it’s still unmatched over half a century later.
An incredible feat of genius engineers, visionaries and machinists.
Basically what I tell the salespeople at the Apple Store when they insist my 2009 Mac is too old 😁
The story of how the got a hold of the titanium (sourced from the USSR of all places), and how they moved large assemblies of the plane around from factory to factory during construction, in secret is amazing as well. My Dad has stories of being an ATC during that time period, my avionics teacher has other stories of that time as an Army airman.
Or did they? Firstoff, I totally share the sentiments you expressed =] I just wanted to purpose that a lot of tech was extremely advanced in the 60s, and its development and power has been deliberately disseminated for particular reasons. AI is one such tech which I know for a fact was being used 14 years ago, so it must have had a pretty deep history beyond that =]
@@Krahazik That's super interesting,! I'm gonna seek more of that kind of info on line now.
"Every part of this masterpiece is designed for its mission goals" is probably the most eloquent and concise summary of this amazing engineering marvel.
Best, SR-71 rendition I've ever seen. I work for the Museum of Flight in Seattle and we have a brand new unused inlet spike in the warehouse up at Paine Field. I wish they'd display it with one of the engines at the main museum.
Your rendition of the spike back to the engine is close to perfect.
The plane and the video breakdown are nothing short of remarkable!!! How the engineers figured out all of the aerodynamic, physics and other intangibles for this work of art is astonishing.
Deep thinking, daydreaming, rethinking, night dreaming and nightmares! Oh what fun, they must have had! A. J. C., III 20 Apr 24
A solid foundation in math and theory works wonders doesn't it?
As long as I can remember, the SR-71 has been my favorite plane. I first saw what I thought was an SR-71 at the Intrepid Museum in New York, but I later found out it was a Lockheed A-12. I finally got to see the SR-71 for the first time last month at The National Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton. Such a legendary aircraft!
One of the best videos ever posted to UA-cam. Unbelievable.
Seconded.
thirded!
This video is so great ❤️ Had a poster of a Blackbird on my wall as a kid, now as an adult to experience such an amazing end to end documentary in so much technical detail... Really an absolute gift. Thank you!
As a pilot and fan of the SR-71, this video is just amazing. Perhaps a little slow paced but it takes a while for the brain to understand the breathtaking three-dimensional animations. @animagraffs should be nominated for whatever the UA-cam award is for technical and aesthetic excellence.
"Slow paced" is just what I needed here : I had time to process each explanation and be ready for the next one. Good job uploader!
My uncle flew the blackbird out of Barksdale AFB in Bossier La.
I got to go see the last take off out of there back in the late 70's. It was an awesome thing to watch.
I am 70 years old now and I can close my eyes and still see it in my minds eye as it roared of the runway in to the sky.
American ingenuity at its best.
We could very well see it's legacy continue. While it's retirement is thanks to satellites, nowadays, the nature of satellites are helpful in bring the next turn of the crank. Satellites have a very predictable and very well known timeline. They are easily defeated/hidden from. Also, very easy to take out if absolutely necessary. Even the SR could be quite the unfortunate surprise for a "spot check" of a base or area. Make something even harder to see on radar and faster? LOL...they may never even know something came to check on them.
This is very true even with all the sky watchers out there,we don't know what they have developed since and on the drawing boards now. Skunk Works has a habit of surprising us. Just have to wait and see.
My father, Major Willam Frazier, was an RSO test pilot at Edward’s AFB in the 70’s. Obviously, I grew up with this magnificent plane in my daily life. I would hear the harrowing stories all the time from him and the other pilots. I was fortunate enough to attend with him, Blackbird conventions in Reno and walk through the Blackbird Airpark in Palmdale California. He would describe to me the inner workings of the aircraft, the mechanics of the engines and even his first hand account of experiencing an unstart. It was difficult to picture many of these details, that is until your video. I have read nearly every book (including many that you sites in your follow up video) and I can say that you perfectly captured not only the technical and engineering aspects but also the emotional side of what this plane meant to so many of us. Years ago, I showed him the RSO cockpit illustrations in the SR-71 Declassified book. I watched awestruck as he tapped and slid his fingers on the page as if he was touching the knobs and switches again as he described everything to me. Unfortunately, we lost my father last year, it brings tear to my eye to think of him being able to see your work. Thank you for your meticulous effort, job well done. Thank you
I have no aviation background whatsoever and the explanation and the animation for the mixer is amazing. You describe it perfectly and the illustrations work in combination with the explanation to make me feel like I'm an expert on it. Very, very well done. My hats off to the chef!
As a I kid, I would frequently get lost for hours in those Cross Section books. These videos are like, the ultimate evolution of them. Love it.
I was an Avionics Communications specialist (328x0) stationed at Beale AFB and worked on these fantastic machines. This video provides such great insights on so any of the items we knew about this jet but graphically explains how and why it works. For instance I knew that the Nacelles produced greater thrust than the afterburners but couldn’t exactly explain how it was done. Further we were in contact with the crew from launch to recovery and could hear the grunts and pauses when a SAM launch was detected and evasive maneuvers were underway sometimes resulting in the “inlet unstart” you spoke of. I believe that modifications were made when an unstart occurred that forced the ruddervators to the opposite direction to prevent the possible loss of consciousness for the crew by reducing the impact of their helmets hitting the sides of the cockpit.
You did a great job of describing the engine starting process and the twin (Buick 400?) engines revving - sounded incredible and was especially exciting when the TEB was injected for the green flash that occurred! Comm specialists were among a few that were present for preflight testing and this was a treat to be a part of! Fantastic work!
Italian here. You know, American exceptionalism gets a bit much sometimes - but there two things that do show that exceptionalism: jazz, and the SR-71. It’s such a feat of engineering, and sheer power, it impresses me more than any other bit of technology. It’s so… analog. So overengineered. It’s made for people to gawk at it and go “holy shit”, after all this time. Absolutely fantastic achievement - and your video had me with my jaw to the floor the whole time. Thank you so much!!!
I could imagine American exceptionalism is pretty tiresome. I know you don't know because you listen to jazz, but basically all of aviation is all American. Everything else is just a copy. We invented all of it. All of it. All of it. All of it. All of it. And also, we've got about two dozen aircraft that are as complicated or more complicated than the SR 71. 2/3 of which were invented when Europe was still trying to figure out deodorant and dental care. The computer you use, the phone you are using now, the Internet, UA-cam, what the hell isn't because of American exceptionalism is more the question. I've never heard of an Italian space shuttle.. or an Italian XB70. Every other good aircraft to come out of Europe heavily involved the Brits. And even then they maintain very close ties to American Aerospace, which gave them the skills and knowledge. You can't just take technology that was completely invented by somebody else, add 10% of your own ideas, and then take credit for the whole thing turn around and balk at the people who gave it to you. You should show more respect for the people who gave you your entire modern life. I will, however, give you credit for pizza, crime and a strong hair oil industry.
@@InvertedFlightYou lost me at "I know you don't know because you listen to jazz" - what a weird assumption to make about someone, true or not lmao. Much as it is indeed true that modern technology, civilian or military, has (largely) indeed come out of America (let's pretend post-war Germany and Japan don't exist, and the the Industrial Revolution didn't start in Britain) - the type of sentiment you bring forward, with having to discredit everything and everyone else, and for good measure throw in a couple of fantasticly racist remark, is EXACTLY why the rest of the world rolls their eyes at Americans (or at least, those that come forward this way to strangers), regardless of objective (and largely only technological) merits.
Also, don't forget Leonardo Da Vinci was conceptualising flying machines WAY ahead of any technology that would be available for the following few centuries, while Europeans (mostly Italians, at that time, go figure) were still trying to figure out if they had landed in India or not by crossing the atlantic ;)
And as far as "people who brought me modern life" - they also brought a fascist coup attempt in the early '70s, to Italy (hi CIA!), so yeah, I'll keep my opinions about American exceptionalism. The SR-71 is great tho! And I'm typing this while listening to Bill Evans, thanks for him too!
@@InvertedFlightHoly shit, what an incredibly unhinged and American diatribe 😂
@@GabrielMisfirewithout us inventing the ships, they would have never built the SR-71 nor the iPhone...
@@InvertedFlight Who invented the jet engine? The british. first commercial jetliner? The british. Who invent the rocket? The germans. Who invented the computer? The british. You're actually insane. Americans may have mass produced and improved these things and have invented many great things too, no doubt, but invented them? Plain factually wrong. Your american exceptionalism is showing.
Simply a masterpiece, an astonishing mix of technology, art and superb commentary.
"Perhaps what makes this (documentary) so special, is its rarity. To have the proper people come together.....and be allowed to flex their talents fully, is apparently a very rare thing indeed and often results in (video) legends that persist." An awesome job Jake!
The fact that a machine like the SR71 Blackbird exists at all is nothing short of a miracle. The fact it was being designed and created in the early 1960s is absolutely astounding.
The complexity of the many, many different systems that make up the Blackbird would be a very tall task to conquer even today with the assistance of AI, digital 3d modeling, computer simulations, and 60+ years of accumulated experience/data. In the late 1950s to the early 1960s, none of that was available. Every single piece of every single component, that made up every single system in the Blackbird had to be painstakingly and manually designed, modeled, prototyped, tested, modified, retested, and eventually certified as a final production spec component. The number of man hours and the amount of dedication necessary to accomplish this feat is absolutely mind boggling.
This excellent video helps to put into perspective what we as a species is capable of accomplishing if we just put in the effort. If you're honest with yourself, regardless of where you may stand regarding the politics, morality, or justification of the SR71 Blackbird, the fact that it exists is both extremely impressive and very humbling all at the same time.
Well done to you. Six years ago, I was a design engineer working at NASA/JSC and using CAD software. Your work is mind blowing and is far better than I could have ever produced. Thank you for showing us how the SR-71 did its thing. P.S., not only the visual content, but the hardware explanation was top notch.
17:11 For me, the most important part of this video and currently the best explanation possible to understand the concept behind the ram-jet effect and how this mind-bending engine works!!! No one was able to explain this as good as you did! Congrats for such achievement!
This is probably the most intense I've focused on a UA-cam video but man was it worth it.
I'm a qualified mechanical engineer with a love for loving things, and what you said at the end about the rarity of the aeroplane is what makes it legendary. What I would give to have been even the smallest cog in that team back then would've changed my life.
It's sad to think that a plane such as this will not see the light of day at present, what due to restricting regulations and costs.
I trust you will continue with these gold mines of information for time to come because I think I've just discovered my favourite UA-cam video of all time. You are doing God's work for those of us who strive to learn and understand and take forward the engineering world.
This is the cooolest video on the internet bar none; as a layman, i have read everything I could find on this plane, but have never found such a comprehensive, detailed explanation of all of the unique features of this masterpiece. Kudos! Eagerly awaiting your next!
If we had this level of fidelity and detail when we did MCE, I cant comprehend the possibilities I personally could've achieved. This video deserves 100 million views. And to the minds that built this machine's every component; We are not the same *hat tip*
I’ve seen, touched and watched the SR-71 fly, but never seen a video with such amazing detail and information about this incredible aircraft.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. This 75 yr old is yet again awe inspired by this pre-computer designed plane.
Man… I bet you even remember the smell. Wish it was me that had that opportunity. A. J. C., III
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ By far one of the best videos I've seen on youtube. Thank you so much. As a mechanical engineer and RC pilot I truly appreciate all the effort put in. I wish all videos were this clear and well researched, with this amount of detail.
This is incredible. Thank you.
The level of engineering here is almost unbelievable. Amazing Machine, and an equally impressive level of explanation. Been an SR Fan forever and never knew alot of this mechanical info.
I'm just an industrial designer, but this kept me as entertained as an engineer. Especially the wing controls mechanism... It's like seeing a work of clockwork. So simple but so complex at the same time. Without a doubt my favorite part of the entire explanation, but the rest is no waste 55 minutes flew by! Excellent way to segment everything, Your level of 3D modeling in Blender, animation, etc. is excellent. For explanatory purposes you could make it even simpler and you took the trouble to make it so detailed in parts, shapes and colors... You deserve more than a like or a view. Thanks from Spain.
It's one thing to watch a video on it, and it's another thing to see it in person. It's such a beautiful craft, and HUGE - much bigger than I thought
I feel like I’m learning National Secrets watching this video. Absolutely fascinating!
A gift to all aviation enthusiasts. Thank you.
Didn't expected THAT amount of new and precise information! Thought I've seen everything about the SR-71 back and forth, but this was really awesome. Thank you so much for all the work!
The BEST explanation of a plane we’ve all admired for years !!
The most interesting thing, I believe, is how they used to start this. There was a starter cart with two big-block Buick V8's. They were tied together and linked to the actual turbine. After spinning the turbine to abt 4500RPM, they would disconnect the linkage. They later used Chevy engines but still cried out "Start the Buicks" to get it going.
Excellent comment!
@TomPauls007 from another video of a former pilot who gave an interview of the J58 at Air Zoo, he said they switched to Chevy because they picked every single Buick 400 V8 from every place including junk yards. Evidently the Buicks sounded the best too lol
@@DeadGothicRed yeah because the pilots didnt disengage them at 3000-4000 rpm haha. Got to love sound of em to deplete all the stocks across states
This is an incredible channel that presents information in much better fashion than others.
The engineers that developed this aircraft were wizards when the date of deployment is taken into account.
Mechanical engineers build weapons. Civil engineers build targets.
This video is damn near as impressive as the SR-71 itself. This is an absolutely superb production.
I’m starting to wonder which is more amazing; the plane or this damn video. It’s amazing. Seriously this is legit amazing content. Blown away.
This is probably the best video in the world when it comes to explaining the workings of the Blackbird. Prior to this, I had no idea about the linkages and steerage mechanism. Well researched and presented!!!
People think that the pyramids were too challenging for humans to have engineered and built. I’d like to show them this video.
The cuneiform tells us we didn't build the Great Pyramid. Furthermore it performed its multitasking design with 0 moving parts.
How did you come to get in contact with these legends that were a part of the SR-71 project?
Cuneiform wasn't even used by the egyptians. The people using cuneiform were probably just saying that they didn't make it, it was someone else
That script type was used in ancient Babylon.
The Egyptians used hieroglyphs
This is just amazing. I've been obsessed with this plane my entire life, it's just the brighest example to summarize how awesome and beautiful mechanic engineering can be. I think I knew more than a lot about the SR-71, but this thing you made kept me literally jaw dropped like a child for 55 minutes straight. You sir are an artist. Thanks for everything you've gifted to all of us.
I know I'm just repeating what most of the others already wrote but...your videos are incredible. The level of detail and understanding the mechanics is just beyond believe. Just brilliant. I've noticed few imperfections you fixed on-flow but that makes you even more reliable. Thank you for this stuff.
Best Blackbird video I've ever seen.
What an insanely detailed video, and what a quality in production. This is simply amazing. It is pure knowledge, and for free.